In response to its draft action plan for apparels sector brought out by the Union Ministry suggestions the CII (Tirupur district council), and Sripuram Trust (a body of textile sector representatives) has put up proposal for creation of a ‘Textile Bank,’ a separate policy for manmade fibres and polyester, a processing zone for dyeing sector, and direct marketing facilities for power loom weavers.

CII (Tirupur district council) chairman Raja Shanmugam said that the creation of a Textile Bank is similar on the lines of the recently approved small banks project, which would help the sector to get low cost funds for capacity expansion, and value-addition.

The cluster want the Ministry to have a mechanism by which assured institutional credit linkage facilities are made available with all the textile park projects.

If a textile park project is linked to certain banks as in the case of residential building projects, it will be easy for entrepreneurs to open their units immediately after the allocation of space, said Mr. Shanmugam.

A significant suggestion that came from the Tirupur entrepreneurs was the need for a separate policy for manmade fibres and polyester. The sector recommended for opening outlets similar to the ‘Uzhavar Sandhai’ (farmers’ market) to help power loom weavers market the fabrics directly to apparel makers avoiding middlemen.

The suggestions put forward are the joint result of the views expressed by various associations and entrepreneurs in Tirupur bearing in mind the difficulties faced by the textile sector.